Season’s greetings!
The holidays are in full swing, and I am delighted that the Flyfishers’ Club will meet in person for the first time in nearly two years. Our December 14 dinner will be at the University Club, which will be decorated in its usual holiday splendor. The December meeting has always been a party, so liven up this festive event and bring your spouse, partner, or significant other.
2021 marks the 60th Anniversary of the Club, so your Program committee has put together a special evening. Past-President Mark Metzdorff will give a brief presentation on “The Literary History of the FCO” as part of the unveiling of a special book created for the occasion—the 60th Anniversary Creel, which is an anthology containing the best articles from past Creel publications. As part of the 60th Anniversary celebration, one copy of the special edition Creel will be provided to each Club member for free. Additional copies will be available for purchase at $30 each for holiday giving. If you can’t join us on December 14, we will make alternate arrangements to deliver your copy.
We also will celebrate our local fly fishing waters with a talk on Oregon’s “Infinite Seasons” by local expert Nick Wheeler, now with the Portland Fly Shop. Raffle prizes for this event will include two gift certificates for the shop.
This holiday dinner features a special fixed-price menu selection of beef tenderloin, seared salmon, and wild mushroom risotto. In addition to no-host cocktails, there will be passed hors d’oeuvres during Wet Fly Hour. Dinner will include red and white wine on each table, plus coffee and dessert. The Flyfishers’ Club is partially subsidizing this special event to keep the price at $40 per person. Those of you who had previously selected entrees from the old menu will receive refunds; however, you still need to re-select your entrée and pay the $40/per person adjusted price. Here is a link to sign up for our wonderful holiday event. Special note: to ensure that we have time for both presentations, our normal Fly Hour will become Wet Fly 45 minutes because dinner service begins at 6:45 p.m. Plan accordingly.
Covid-19 and its variants remain a concern. Safety is our top priority, so we ask that only fully vaccinated members and guests attend. In addition, University Club Covid policy will be followed, which requires masks when not eating or drinking. We trust that our members and guests will abide by these rules to ensure a safe and fun event.
I have no recent fishing reports to share and am reasonably certain that my next fishing experience will not take place until next year. To that end, I am looking forward to a few planned steelhead trips on the Oregon coast and the Sandy River in January and February.
As another strange, Covid-driven year winds down, I continue to be thankful for my blessings, which include time spent on the water with old and new friends, fish caught, as well as fish that got away (they magically get larger with each retelling), and the myriad opportunities I have had to enjoy the splendor of our beautiful Pacific Northwest outdoors.
I wish each of you a very happy holiday season and I look forward to seeing you in person on December 14.
Tight lines,
Jim
